Get this, So I bought several games at Gamestop. They have the games outside of the boxes to reduce theft. lol. What they have you do is bring up the box and pay, then they will put the game and manual inside the box. I get home, go to enter the codes on my club Nintendo account to get my coins. There was a slight problem though. THE PIECES OF PAPER WITH THE CODES WERE MISSING! I called Nintendo to find out what was going on and they said that all of the codes from my games had been registered. Some Jerkoff at Gamestop has been stealing the codes from the boxes and registering them. The guy from Nintendo informed his supervisor, who is now going to call Gamestops corporate headquarters. DONT BUY GAMES AT GAMESTOP!!!!!!!! The scum bags will rip you off.

Yeah, the games were new. The supervisor at nintendo told me that gamestop is in trouble with Nintendo right now. The have a special agreement with nintendo that allows them to purchase original product packaging for used games that were traded in without it. Apparently, there have been several instances in which old games in good condition were placed in replacement packaging, then sold as new. He said he was forwarding my complaint so it could be included with the the rest of the complaints towards Gamestop. He also told me "always buy your games at walmart or another bigger store", and that any game that has been unsealed is NO LONGER able to be sold as new.

Gamestop does sell display copies but they always have to notify you that you are getting a display copy (meaning it's been opened and possibly played). And if an employee stole the code then that's just too bad.

Oh man that sucks. I have had some really bad experiences with the some incompetent employees at Gamestop. Just ask to talk to the manager and file a formal complaint. They will most likely listen to your woes.

If you buy a game from GameStop, and they have to put the disc in the box, it's USED.

If you buy a game that's new, it'll be behind the counter, still shrink wrapped. I highly doubt they are going to keep EVERY copy of EVERY game they have on the tiny racks they have mounted on the wall...

You bought a used game, and got pissed that the code was already used by the person who bought it new.

@ zidane_genome
You have no idea what your talking about ... having worked for them I can tell you.

1) None of the games come shrink wrapped (we do that ourselves in the back).
2) We can take up to 3 "new" games home for 5 days, play them, return them to the store only to be sold as new.
3) Sell the copies that are in the systems as new.
4) Make most of our money by selling used and I can tell you I have seen first hand, some employees will put used games (good condition) in new boxes to be sold as new, as a matter of fact some managers require it.
5) All those times they tell you that they haven't received a shipment of "enter new game title here" is a lie. In my time there we received most new releases a full two weeks prior to the released street date.
6) Most employees are either fan-boys or know nothing about video games in general. (parents don't trust a Game Stop employees recommendation, we get hours based upon how much we sell and what we sell ... goes kinda like this in terms of sales ... accessories < Used accessories < new games < reservations < used games < new systems < used systems)

My time there (for the above reasons) was short lived ... I don't agree with the way they work and the crappy policies they have.

And to all those who speak out about piracy ... take a second look at buying used... do the artists who make the games see a nickel when you buy used ... NO! If you don't want to take a chance rent the game first .... please don't support Game Stop.

Is gamestop and EB games the same thing? I hardly shop at EB games anyways. But it's tempting 'cause I know someone who works there which can get me 25% - 30% of games. I just make sure he gets me a brand new copy.

Yes sadly EB is dead, Gamestop raped and pillaged them some years ago. I hated it so much just because EB was fairly honest, all games were SEALED, and they had this 7day no questions return policy on NEW games (not just used as GS does.)

I knew of their crap policies and if the game has some freebie in box or a code for Club Nintendo I won't buy it, but if it's damn near impossible to find and doesn't fit that qualification I only get mildly annoyed by the policy. I used to demand a price reduction and they'd get all sweaty and mouthy about it being new but behind the counter when I full well knew it was crap. Before it was Gamestop it was Software Etc and my friend worked there for 2 years and their same morally bankrupt policies go back over a decade.

I only bought one console game from GameStop. It was Metal Gear Ac!d right around the launch of the PSP. The girl behind the counter kept pressuring me to buy it used for 5 USD less. I kept telling her that I'd rather pay the 5 extra dollars to get the thing brand new but she kept starring at me as though i was about to go swimming with an extension cord tied to my waist. I ended up buying the new one and it did look factory sealed.

I also used to buy budget PC games from them ages ago which thankfully were sealed. A year ago i tried buying Ghost in the Shell for PSP from them. It was 20 USD new. So i came up to the counter the dude takes the battered display box and gives me the instruction manual and the disc and i obviously had to decline. Yet again i tried buying a new game from another GS a couple of months ago; it was Battlefield 2142 for PC. They give me the same open box bullshit telling me its BRAND NEW. I told them i didn't want it and the guy was like why? I told him that the damn thing wasnt sealed and the dumb motherfucker tells me he can go in the back an reseal it for me. Yea and what am i gonna do when i cant register my CD-Key because some crack head employee sold it on eBay 3 months ago.

Needless to say I'm going to be doing all my video game shopping at Newegg and at other competent retailers. Although i am pretty lucky in that there is a J & R right by my college and they tend to have competitively priced games. Although the 8.25% New York sales tax is still a bitch .

@Vampire Hunter D - Game stop, EB Games, and X Planet are all the same compan, guessing you didn't get the memo on that one.

--
NEVER buy or sell games at Game Stop. I had went to go sell back a bunch of DS games I had when I got my flashcart, and was told by 4 different people that they got back 13~20 bucks for Mario and Luigi Partners in Time, but I was talking when he was ringing it up (didn't show the individual prices) and he rung it up for 4 CENTS. Overall I made about 4 bucks on 20~25 games. After he rung them up, he was throwing them in a bin, so I couldn't even just reverse the transaction, and it doesn't help that my mom was rushing me.

I've never set foot in a Game stop besides to buy Guild Wars (because only them and Best Buy had the trilogy, and we went out to eat at a restaurant RIGHT next to a game stop).

Game Stop, or more specifically Planet X used to be a lot more gamer-friendly, but in the past 3~4 years, they've become very business oriented, and since then they gip people every way that they can. People love working there because you can gip people off like no tomorrow, and most of the cheap stuff never even makes the front carts, so you can get stuff for pennies. Despite the penny shelves being common knowledge, I've had Game stop employees tell me they've never heard of it even, what selfish bastards.

No offense, but is english your second language? Re-read what I said because I said what you did except the PlanetX part. Software Etc was the start of it, they picked up EB, Babbages, Funcoland, Planet X, and the rest and instead of keeping all the names along that trail of destruction became Gamestop.

I'm quite aware of their roots as they ruined a favorite store of mine: Funcoland, as I was a HUGE NES player in those days and they ruined a valuable local resource.

As for your experience that's somewhat unique, actually I'm almost tempted to call you a liar because the least credit I've ever seen them do is 25 cents for a really really shitty GBA game a few years ago, and then also the same on some GB/C titles back when they took em. I get you got hosed, but it was YOUR fault for not asking what in credit you were getting. They're supposed to tell you that, but if they don't it's your fault for signing the pad giving it up without knowing so I don't feel too sorry for you as you let yourself get taken advantage of. If they truly did give you 4 cents, that guy probably rang it up as something else and pocketed some money as I've known some turds at that place to pull that stunt going as far back as the SoftwareETC days.

You did the right thing with Guild Wars though. I do the same thing. If I just can't get it somewhere else and I want it, and the price is not jacked up I'll buy it. Yesterday I picked up PSP games Pinball Hall of Fame(Williams) and Afterburner for $17 and $19 respectively (normally $20 and $30 games.) Usually when I have used material there's a local chain that looks at what GS sells the items for used, and gives you 1/2 or a bit more if it's in super shape. Considering Gamestop pays you about 25% of what they sell it for, it's a nice deal.